Rensselaer Union, Volume 2, Number 39, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 June 1870 — Letter from Mr, R. B. James. [ARTICLE]

Letter from Mr, R. B. James.

Section, 10, town 20, range 5, Washington township; Crawford county*, Kansas, Sunday, June 12, 1870. ’ i ’Wc came here last Friday evening. Nearly all the land in, this regton is either “prc-cliumyd’’ by sharks or taken by settlers. 1 here is scarcely a house about here that is more than three years old and nearly all have been built since last June. The “sharks” had it all thenown way until this spring. Now, organizations of settlers protect the “squatters” or “jumpers” on shark’s claims. Shark’s claims are where the first comers laid down three rails, drove a stake with initials and date and called it a house. — Some of them had thirty or inorc of these claims and charged settlers from S2O to S2OO, but ns settlers camo in faster these claims fell in value until now those who “squat” on them oiler to, pay the actual cash value of the improvements, and no more. Some take this grumblingly and give quitclaim deeds and possession, others hang back, threaten the law and get nothing. Two years ago the sharks would have mobbed them off but such a course is not safe now. Our family is very well. All of us have stood the journey admirably. The roads were good all the way. Altogether we did not have five miles of muddy roads. In Missouri there are some long hills and occasionally sharp pitches.— Saw Mr. Warner and Air. Trent at Fort Scott. Camped near Mr. Cart's and used water from his well one night. The expenses of moving were much more than I expected as every thing -had been run up to an artificial value by the press of immigration last fall, though everything is plenty at the prices asked, The country here, and far many miles back,- is beautiful rolling prairie underlaid with a stratum of good shell limestone, then freestone, then coal. We need no timber—a- every farm has coal enough for hundreds of families, and hedge or sod will make all the fences required —except lor building, which, of course, must come from timbered countries. The springs and creeks lire all bordered with timber, but these narrow belts would amount to nothing were it not for the wasteful abundance of three veins of coal cropping out at the ravines or hillsides, or found two, eight or thirty feet down on level lands. The cactus, or prickly pear, grows here with double pink, yellow, maroon and white, flowers.The erawfoot moss bearing light pink flowers in cultivation with you grows wild here in large patches at the coal out-croppings. Early this spring oats were injured by drought. Some early ones are short but heavy headed. Wheat is ripe and harvesting begun. The crop-is ±i , cincnd.ous E i = - I‘eople are still planting corn on , sod as they break it. On old land ZcornTisjiearfy up to a nntn’s shoulders. The prevailing grass is bluejoint, blue-stem, or blue sedge (all■ the same thing) and grows the year j round. It is the common wild up- j land grass of Jasper county, but ■ grows much ranker here than there, some of the seed stalks, we are told, attaining ten or twelve feet in height. It is very wet. —that is, there are frequent showers—here now and for three weeks past which has raised the Missouri hnd all the streams this side.

There is said to be some game and fish here. We hear prairie chickens, quails and plover, see deer and wolves, and are told of turkeys squirrels, &e., indeed squirrels, rabbits, chickens, plover, quails and fish have been frequent on our table. A drove of 150 horses passed hqre this week-from Texas destined to Nebraska ami, Colorado. They were priced at from sls to S6O per head and some of them were as good as half the horses in Jasper county. If that, sounds invidious use Indiana or Illinois instead. Expect to mail this at Mulberry Grove postoffice. Respect to friends.